Frisian

[Eduard Selleslagh]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Gustafson" <stevegus at aye.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2000 4:33 AM

> Max Dashu writes:

>> Nevertheless, I'm going to ask you if you know anything about the
>> distribution of Frisian in medieval times. I've read that it extended over
>> more of the Netherlands than currently, and also towards Denmark.

> According to the map in Robinson (Old English and its Closest Relatives),
> Frisian was once spoken along almost the entire coast, from Bruges in the
> southwest to just over the current Danish border in the northeast,
> apparently with a gap at the mouth of the Elbe.  Robinson also cites
> Tacitus, who reports Frisii between the Rhine and the Ems.

[Ed. Selleslagh]

The very probably related (Ingwaeonic) West-Flemish dialect was and is spoken
from French-Flanders (e.g. Dunkirk etc., where it has almost disappeared since
Louis XIV conquered it) to the mouth of the River Scheldt (Schelde, Lat.
Scaldis) in (Dutch) Zeeland. It shares a number of characteristics with
Frisian, e.g. absence of diphtongation, but so did, apparently, Hollands (Dutch
coastal area except Friesland, including Rotterdam and Amsterdam and some more
inland cities) before it was mixed with (Frankish) Brabants (strongly
diphtongating like English) in the 16th century, during the mass emigration of
the protestants. Preservation of -(i)sk (or a later -isch /isx/ in all but a
one West-Flemish dialect) - instead of becoming -/is/ - is limited to Frisian
and West-Flemish.

BTW, I'm not aware that Frisian proper was ever spoken in Bruges (Du.: Brugge,
the capital of West-Flanders). The early Dutch of the author Jakob Van Maerlant
(from Damme, the former port of Brugge. 1225-1295) is basically 'polished'
(Middle-)West-Flemish. But many agree that some form of Ingwaeonic was spoken
from Dunkirk to Sylt, i.e. along all of the original Atlantic 'haffen' coast.

Ed.